


A Dark Promise

by girlstandstill



Series: A Rose Among Thorns [2]
Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Blood Magic (Dragon Age), F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Lies, Mild Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 10:06:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30137901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlstandstill/pseuds/girlstandstill
Summary: On the Eve of Battle, Ferelden's last two Grey Wardens are told the dark truth of why only they can end the blight. Faced with the brutal truth, Elena & Alistair are forced to confront the real possibility they may lose one another.
Relationships: Alistair/Female Surana (Dragon Age), Alistair/Female Warden (Dragon Age), Morrigan & Female Surana (Dragon Age), Morrigan & Female Warden (Dragon Age)
Series: A Rose Among Thorns [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216724
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	A Dark Promise

As they left Riordan’s room, Alistair reached for Elena’s hand, lacing their fingers together. His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest he could feel it pounding in his ears. The thought of Elena lying dead next to the archdemon made his blood run cold. The walk back to his room was silent, the air was thick with tension. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts to come up with something witty to change the mood. The smile that Elena usually wore on her face was notably absent and Alistair imagined she was having similar thoughts. When they reached his door, Elena stood on her tiptoes placing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Love, I need to get something from my room, I’ll join you in a few minutes”. It nearly broke Alistair right then to see her so defeated, his strong mage, so bold and brave looked so terrified and vulnerable. 

He wanted more than anything to assure her everything would be alright, that they would both make it out alive, but he couldn't because it would be a lie. She squeezed his hand before turning her back to him, he just stood there watching after her until she turned around the corner and disappeared from sight. Inside the privacy of his room, Alistair couldn’t hold back any longer and he started to cry. From the moment they had met, Alistair knew he would follow Elena anywhere and now there was a real possibility that it would end. He was forced to confront his greatest fear, he could actually lose her forever. The very thought brought him to his knees and in desperation he found himself reciting the chant, praying to the maker that somehow, he could still have his happy ending with her. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
When Elena opened the door to her room, she was not expecting to find Morrigan pacing in front of the fireplace mumbling to herself under her breath. Elena could tell something was troubling her friend, it was unusual to see Morrigan so distraught. Even though they were close, Elena still had trouble trusting the witch. She had spent the better part of the last year trying to figure out what Morrigan was hiding. Elena was no fool, she knew that Flemeth had other motives for sending her daughter with them. Morrigan had been acting rather strange once they left Denerim after the Landsmeet. Elena had noticed that she had been keeping distance between them and only speaking to her when necessary. She wondered if Morrigan was finally going to reveal the real reason Flemeth had sent her with them. 

“Don’t be alarmed. It is only I”. Morrigan turned from the fire to face Elena and flashed her friend a crooked smile. The look on Morrigan’s face was unsettling, Elena could already tell that she was not going to like what her friend had to say. The woman took great pleasure in being cryptic and unnerving. 

“Morrigan, is everything alright?” Elena asked as the witch walked over to the foot of the bed and cleared her throat. If Elena didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that Morrigan was nervous. 

“I know what happens when the archdemon dies. I know a Grey Warden must be sacrificed, and that sacrifice could be you. I’ve come to tell you that this does not need to be. I offer a way out. A way out for all of the Grey Wardens, that there need be no sacrifice. A ritual- performed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night. What I propose is this, convince Riordan to lay with me here tonight and from our joining a child will be conceived. The child would bear the taint and when the archdemon dies, its essence will seek the child out like a beacon. Once this is done, I will leave with the child and raise them how I wish and you will not follow”. 

Elena couldn’t believe what she was hearing, for the last year she had thought her friend was sitting on some sinister plot, not a ritual to save wardens from dying.

“Morrigan, why couldn’t you just tell me this before? Why did you wait so long to tell me this?”, Elena moved closer to the bed and sat down in a nearby chair.

Morrigan looked down at her hands and was quiet for a few moments. “I did not mention it sooner because until recently it was not an option I was willing to consider. You know I do not want a child, I have absolutely no desire to become a mother. I was resolved to let the fool Alistair die for you, I knew he would sacrifice himself to keep you safe. What I wasn’t expecting was for you to fall in love with the idiot and that changed things. I knew you would not survive losing him to the archdemon and Elena you must live. I was not expecting to care about you, to find in you a sister and if you were to die, the world would be all the lesser. Before I left the wilds, Flemeth told me that it was my duty to do what was necessary to keep you alive and safe. She would not tell me why, but she said it was imperative that you survive the blight. Keeping you alive means that I must keep that fool Alistair alive as well. So, I must do what is needed to ensure you both survive”. 

Elena sat in silence for a moment, she remembered the first time she had spoken with Flemeth in the wilds. The old woman had seemed to know all about Elena and had been expecting her arrival. Elena wasn’t sure what knowledge Flemeth was privy to or how she obtained it, but her words implied that fate had more in store for her than death at the hands of the archdemon. 

“Morrigan, I don’t know what to say but thank you”.

Elena stood up from the chair and walked over to Morrigan and sat beside her on the bed. Before any more words could pass through her lips, Morrigan pulled her into a hug. They sat embracing one another in silence for a few moments before Morrigan broke the silence and pulled away.

Morrigan stood up and pulled her up from the bed and pushed her toward the door. “Now, go then and convince your fellow Warden of our deal. If I may offer a suggestion before you leave, it would be wise of you to leave out the part where the child survives”. 

Elena reached for the door knob and opened the door. Once outside she crossed the hall toward Riordan’s room pausing at this door. She leaned her forehead against the wall and took a deep breath. Was she really going to do this, lie and trick someone into creating a demon child? She thought about the look on Alistair’s face when Riordan told them one of them had to die. It looked as if his heart was breaking and she knew he was thinking about her lifeless body. The thought of living without him or her dying and leaving him alone, it gnawed at her heart and filled her gut with dread. Elena never hesitated to put herself in harm’s way to help another, but she didn’t want to die and she didn’t want to live without him. 

By the maker, she hoped she was making the right choice by doing this. As much as she didn’t trust blood magic, she knew her friend wasn’t evil and her schemes did not involve destroying the world. The only thing she could believe with certainty is that Morrigan did not want her to die, she knew the witch despite her cold and distant demeanor cared about her. She let out a huff and righted herself before knocking on the door. Elena could hear Riordan call out from within. She opened the door and walked into the room a few steps before turning to close the door behind her. Riordan was sitting in a chair in front of the fire, a book was in his lap. When she approached, he looked up at her and smiled, he placed the book down on a table in front of him and stood up. “Yes, what is it?”, he got up and walked toward her. Elena could feel her blood rushing to her ears and panic threatened to overwhelm her as she stood nervously in front of her fellow Warden. Despite her mixed feelings, she pressed on, clearing her throat to speak. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour had passed since Elena had gone off to her room, she should have been back by now Alistair thought. He was pacing again, a nervous habit he picked up from his days in the chantry. There was no way she had abandoned him, not when so much was on the line. The news that Riordan shared was a bombshell surely, but they faced death every day. Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew that this was different. To end the blight one of them would not survive. Just as Alistair made the decision to track Elena down his door swung open and she walked in. She looked as if she had been crying, her cheeks were stained with dry tears and her nose was red. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. He felt her body relax against his and she started sobbing. Elena pulled away and stared up at him, he could see the worry in her eyes. She took his hand and led them to the foot of the bed, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. 

Elena laid her head on his shoulder and his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her tiny body closer to his. Moments passed before she spoke but Alistair knew something was weighing heavy on her mind. “I did something, I don’t know if it was the right thing to do but I did it anyway. I can’t lose you; I know I wouldn’t survive it”. A look of shame crossed her beautiful face at the admission. Alistair brushed a stray lock of hair from her face and kissed her forehead. 

“Talking to me about it might help. You know, no matter what you say I’ll still love you and won't think any less of you”. Elena told him what had transpired with Morrigan and Riordan, as well as the part she played in it. It took Alistair a few minutes to sort through everything Elena had said. A few times while she had been speaking, Alistair couldn’t help but feel relief wash over him now that there was a very real possibility that the both of them would survive. When Elena finished speaking she looked up at him, her amber eyes filled with tears. He wiped the tears from her face and pulled her close, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

“Is Morrigan positive that this ritual of hers will work?”. Elena nodded, “She said it was a ritual that Flemeth created. The child is to be both bait and trap for the archdemon, making it possible for anyone to kill it”. 

Alistair was grateful that their odds of success had improved, but he found himself wondering about the child, it left a bad taste in his mouth. He just hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite them in the ass one day. Despite his apprehension, he was overjoyed about the very real possibility of a future with Elena. 

“Love, are you sure you can trust her? I mean, she did spend the last year lying to us about something pretty important, who's to say she isn’t doing it again”. 

Elena frowned, “I trust that she wishes me no harm and that she has no plans to destroy the world. As much as you may disagree, I know that Morrigan cares about me. Beyond that I’m not sure, but all I did was propose the idea to Riordan. I left him with the ultimate decision and he chose to proceed”. Alistair did not trust Morrigan but he believed in Elena. She followed her heart and thus far had not been led astray. They had only come this far and overcome every obstacle because of her efforts. Her determination and courage had brought them to this moment. She needed him to have faith in her not to fill her with his doubts. He looked down at Elena’s beautiful face and placed a reassuring kiss on her forehead. She responded by wrapping her arms tighter around him and burying her face in his neck. The heat of her breath on his skin and the feel of her breasts pressed against him turned Alistair’s thoughts elsewhere.

“Love, what do you say we spend the rest of the night getting lost in each other. We can worry about this mess when the battle is over and we are both alive”. Elena looked up and nodded, grinding herself into his lap. A groan escaped him at the pleasure her actions created. Capturing her lips in a searing kiss, he pulled her closer, “I love you Elena, always”.

**Author's Note:**

> I headcanon that Morrigan performs the dark ritual with Riordan.


End file.
